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1. Modest Mouse
in 7th grade, the song "Float On" was getting major airplay on hit radio stations in my hometown, but I hadn't paid attention to it. then I heard a DJ say "listen to this song. it's weird, but you'll love it if you really listen." it was true! I loved it, quite a lot. in 8th grade I got hold of a live version of the song "Black Cadillacs," then moved on to a few of their more popular/recent songs later in the year. I got most of their discography in 9th grade and managed to obtain all of it in 10th grade. now they're my favorite band.

2. Regina Spektor
at the end of 9th grade, I was getting a ride from a senior girl who was playing a song off "Begin to Hope" on her car stereo. she mentioned it was great warm-up music because we were both in choir, then said my singing voice was a lot like Regina's. I was curious so I downloaded a few songs off Begin to Hope. I loved them, so I got hold of her earlier work and loved it even more.

3. The Beatles
um, the first time I can remember hearing the Beatles is when watching "The Parent Trap" (the crap version with Lindsay Lohan) over and over in elementary school- "Here Comes the Sun" was on that soundtrack. then in middle school my mom played several songs of theirs on the hour-long drive to school in the morning- "Yesterday," "Rocky Raccoon," "Blackbird," "Ticket to Ride", etc. etc. plus this gorgeous, a cappella version of "Because" that I haven't been able to find anywhere since. I didn't really start listening to them until the summer after junior year, though. I got their whole discography, listened to the whole thing in 2 nights, and listened to nothing but them for another week more.

4. Animal Collective
back in 10th grade I got hold of a few tracks off "Strawberry Jam," which I sort of liked but they certainly weren't one of my favorite artists at the time. I came across them randomly, either on last.fm or on a recommendation, I'm not sure which- guess it wasn't too memorable. but then I heard "The Purple Bottle" which became, almost immediately, one of my favorite songs ever. I played pretty much nothing but that song all of summer 2008. then I got "Feels" and it was one of my top 10 albums ever. by the time "Merriweather Post Pavilion" came out I was a diehard fan and caught up in all that hype. didn't disappoint by any means. I played almost nothing but MPP for January 2009. when "In the Flowers" kicked in for the first time, swear to god it was nearly a religious experience. it was that awesome.

5. Iron & Wine
my favorite song, of ever, is "The Trapeze Swinger" by Iron & Wine. I actually heard about it on an internet forum back in 8th grade (2006) downloaded it, thought it was too quiet, forgot about it. in September 2007 I came across it again and decided to give it another try. uh, probably one of my best decisions ever, seriously. I fell in love, played it nonstop for a while. I got a few more of his songs and was a bit disappointed- they were amazing, but nothing really compares to "Trapeze Swinger." anyway, eventually came to appreciate all of his stuff and I listened to it a lot throughout high school.

6. Mindless Self Indulgence
alright, confession time: I think MOST of the music I listen to is pretty good, by everyone's standards, but I have a soft spot for the shit I started listening to in middle school (Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, My Chemical Romance etc.) anyway: the bassist for MSI, Lyn-Z, is married to the singer of MCR, Gerard Way. I heard a lot of fans talking about how awesome MSI was (after discovering them through the new MSI/MCR connection, I guess) and I decided to give them a try. they kicked ass. so hard. I met a girl in 10th grade choir class (yeah, seriously) who loved them as well, which made me seek out all of their albums so we could talk about them.

7. Ani DiFranco
I barely remember how I discovered her. I just recall that "As Is" is the first song I heard, and that was September 2007. then I moved on to a few songs like "32 Flavors" and "You Had Time". I didn't listen to her that much until late 2008 and had another period of listening to her a lot in May-August 2009. I introduced my best friend to her, and my bestie adored her music as well, so now we both listen on a regular basis and talk about how awesome she is!

8. The Killers
oh my god, The Killers. I have such a weird relationship with this band. okay, imagine: it's the summer before 7th grade, and "Somebody Told Me" is all over the radio. I like it, a lot, and I spend a lot of time watching the music video for it. now picture this: it's 7th grade, early 2004. my household never had cable TV before this point. when we finally got it, on weekends, I would stay up literally all night, waiting for MTV to play that glorious, non-stop, hour-long block of music videos. when I first saw the video for "Mr. Brightside", it was like this shimmering phantasmic amazing THING on my TV screen. it was all glittery and strange and gorgeous and omg, I'm gushing, but I fell in love. (with Brandon Flowers.) haha, and the song. I downloaded most of "Hot Fuss," fell in love with the whole "murder trilogy" idea. for some reason I didn't get Sam's Town or Sawdust until years later, but I snapped up Day and Age as soon as it came out. I liked it all but nothing has compared to that moment at 3 am on a weekend night in middle school, watching Mr. Brightside for the first time, mouth hanging open and eyes wide.

9. Beirut
I downloaded 3 Beirut songs in April 2008: Nantes, The White Whale, and Postcards from Italy. "Postcards from Italy" turned into one of my favorite songs. when I first heard it I felt glued to my computer chair, it was one of those stunning moments where you hear something lovely for the first time and you feel like you're soaring. that moment where everything drops out but his voice and the horns, then the drumbeat comes back in- still floors me. anyway I listened to this constantly in spring 2008, while driving in the mountains and sunning at a watering hole one time in particular, that sticks with me. then downloaded the rest of his stuff and listened all through that summer and 11th grade up until now.

10. Fall Out Boy
oh, Fall Out Boy. I love this band and I hate this band, both in equal measures. seriously. I saw the video for "Sugar, We're Goin' Down" on the same run of late-night MTV videos that I mentioned before, loved the song, thought the video was boring and stupid in general. (still think that to be honest.) so that was 7th grade, and in 8th grade "Dance Dance" comes out as their second single, and I fell in love (ferociously.) I was madinlove with Pete Wentz, as a lot of middle school girls were at the time, and I remember researching them on the internet, confused to find Pete wasn't the singer (who the fuck is Patrick Stump? I thought. haha oh wow. irony! two years later he was one of my favorite vocalists in modern pop music.) and had this SRS DISCUSSION of "wow, I love how high his voice goes!" (in Dance Dance) with my best friend in 8th grade. I downloaded their whole discography at the time and mainly focused on "Cork Tree," but I also dug the older rougher-sounding EPs. I loved them through 9th grade then entered this period where I was like, oh my god, this band genuinely sucks, and stopped listening to them. but I just can't give them up, you guys. they are awful and they are adorable. jesus.